Witches of Past and Present

by The Editors of History Channel

96 pages, Paperback

Published September 2, 2022

Reviews

[Danielle Woolard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let's be real in saying that this is a magazine, not a book - and it very much feels like it in its reading.

It's not that there's not good or interesting information or stories. There is, there are.. but it's all a bit vague and superficial.

I like the amount of art in the "book" but I don't like that almost none of it is credited. Who painted what?? I also don't love that we don't actually have authors listed, but rather editors..

Just very clearly a fluffy Halloween promo magazine, and I expected more from 'History.'

It got 2 stars cuz it's not total trash. Definitely worth the couple hours of light afternoon reading. Just don't get your hopes up is all I'm saying.

[Rebecca Gatzlaff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good nonfiction about the history of witches.
A couple of things I learned:
1) The bible talks about witches. The Witch of Endor.
2) The Salem witch trials were not the first place to hunt witches. The government also hunted witches in German and all through Europe.
3) Helen Duncan used to summon a dead person's ectoplasm and it was only cheesecloth, paper and egg whites.
4) Margaret Hamilton was a teacher first before becoming a actor and playing the Wicked Witch of the West in the wizard of oz.

[Brenna Jarrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

While full of information, I was hoping for more about current witchcraft aside from Wiccan. While Wiccan is a major religion in witchcraft, not all witches are Wiccan. There isn’t a ton about that and I wish there had been.

[Desiree Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for the Halloween season read loved the depth of the history it went in.

[Kelsey Jandrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually really interesting and informative.